n.
A small straight knife with a thin sharp blade used in surgery and dissection.
[Latin scalpellum, diminutive of scalper, scalprum, knife, from scalpere, to scratch, cut.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
